Shooting guard Morris Peterson, who has been lighting up the scoreboard of late, said that the job newcomer Eric Williams has done with the Raptors has been nothing short of outstanding.

Williams does not always score a lot of points, but the former Providence star, who was traded to Toronto in the Vince Carter deal on Dec.17, is a monster on defence, which is just what the team needed.

"He's a guy that's real good in the locker room, he's good out there out on the floor and he makes my job a lot easier," said Peterson, adding that Williams' verbal tips and instructions out on the court remind him of when Charles Oakley played in Toronto. "(Oakley) really helped out the guys a lot," Peterson said. "He knew a lot of different defensive schemes. He made it easy and I didn't realize that until he was gone. Now I realize how valuable Eric Williams is to this team. Not only can he score, but he does a great job on defence.

"I know if I get beat, Eric will be right there."

HIGH ON BOSH

With five consecutive double-doubles under his belt, Raptors' second-year power forward Chris Bosh is making believers out of all of his teammates.

"He's going to put a smile on a lot of people's faces around here because his game is going to continue to improve," Jalen Rose said. "He's probably the second-best power forward in the East right now (behind Jermaine O'Neal)."

A CHALLENGE

Peterson said one of the reasons he is putting the extra time in the gym and weight room is to live up to a promise he made to coach Sam Mitchell after Carter was traded and he was made a starter.

"(Starting) definitely means a lot to me," Peterson said. "One thing that coach talked about when I got the starting job was, 'hey, I'm putting my trust in you to go out there and get the job done for us.' And once he said that, I was telling myself, get the extra shots, stay later, be the first in the gym and the last one to leave. Do all the little things, and I think all the hard work is starting to pay off."